Daily Retreat 02/11/06

2006 Feb 11 Sat: Ordinary Weekday/ BVM/ Our Lady of Lourdes

1 Kgs 12: 26-32; 13: 33-34/ Ps 105(106): 6-7ab. 19-20. 21-22/ Mk 8: 1-10

From today’s readings: "After taking counsel, the king made two calves of gold .... They exchanged their glory for the image of a grass-eating bullock.... Taking the seven loaves, Jesus gave thanks, broke them, and gave them to His disciples to distribute, and they distributed them to the crowd. "

Eyeing Idolatry

Idolatry is so crude and base - how revolting, pathetic and almost unimaginable it seems that King Jeroboam could fashion two golden calves, then proclaim, "Here is your god, O Israel!" and lo and behold, the people immediately start worshiping the idols, abandoning the true God, the Source of their every blessing!

And yet, can we boast that our generation is untainted by idolatry? Hardly! While it’s true that no one falls for the simple idols of golden calves anymore, how many fall for more sophisticated idols such as money, power, prestige, sex, hedonism? When such things are pursued as the source of salvation and ultimate happiness, and treated as the most important things in life, it’s unarguable that they have become idols displacing worship of the true God.

Even as you and I recognize such obvious ills in society, it’s tempting to assume we’re free of idol worship in our own lives. And yet, each time our sense of priorities places God on the back burner of our lives, there’s evidence enough that we’ve fallen again into the abject sin of idolatry.